-3rd POV-
Aiz closed her eyes and braced for impact. Despite the late warning from Francis, she could have taken out the Evilus member, but she didn't.
Considering that her [Aria] skill would have harmed the surrounding crowd if she quickly used her wind, it would have also hurt the mysterious man who had shared his delicious potato snack.
Even with her Level 4 strength and speed, it wasn't enough. But she was fast enough to get in front of him and protect him with her own body—the man whose hand on her head felt oddly familiar and nostalgic. It gave her a sense of safety, just like her father did.
As the bomb exploded, Aiz expected the pain to surge through her body from the blast, but... there was no pain? Opening her eyes, she saw Francis's arm wrapped around her, his hand fashioning a neon violet shield.
But the shield wasn't what surprised her—it was that both of them were completely unscathed, standing in the middle of a small crater, likely created by the suicide bomber's blast.
"You okay?" Francis asked as he looked down at Aiz in his arms.
"Mhm," Aiz hummed with a nod, her face still emotionless despite nearly being blown to pieces.
Francis sighed in relief. When the bomb went off, he had no choice but to use [Sentinel Shield {Titan}] on the spot, despite not being able to do it earlier.
A [Sentinel Shield {Titan}] is essentially a circular shield made of infinite density, distilled time, and anti-matter.
When he tried to create one before, Francis couldn't wrap his head around how to compress "Infinite Mass" into the form of a shield. But in the face of death, he managed to do it.
How? He simply needed to think less.
To use void, one must draw power from the immeasurably small and the unfathomably massive.
In a moment where he had to act quickly, Francis realized the less he thought about it, the more he could achieve.
His mind couldn't fully grasp the concept of "Infinite Mass" and overthinking it had held him back.
So he willed the shield into existence, imagining "Infinite Mass" not from real proof or observation, but from his imagination of what he imagined it could be and look like.
Thus, he drew from the "Unfathomably Massive" and the "Immeasurably Small" to form an impenetrable shield.
After all, Guardians are meant to defy logic and reason—what's the point of having all those paracausal powers if you try to make sense of them?
"Hoh? You're still alive?" a surprised voice called out.
Both Aiz and Francis turned toward the voice. In the dark alley, they noticed a cloaked figure emerging from the shadows. No, multiple figures in robes appeared from different streets, alleys, and even rooftops.
"Fuck," Francis muttered under his breath, realizing they were in trouble.
"Run," Aiz said, her eyes sharpening to a deadly focus as a soft wave of air fluttered around her.
"Run? Sorry, buttercup, but I don't do running."
Francis gripped [Gryphon] tighter in his hand 'Quinella, how many?' Francis asked his ghost.
Her small figure manifested briefly from under his coat to avoid drawing attention. She quickly scanned the area, gathering all the necessary data in seconds.
{There are 47 of them. 12 on the roofs, 27 in the alleys and streets in front of you, and 8 more farther out, likely using long-range weapons} Quinella informed him before disappearing again.
Francis gave an appreciative grunt before whispering to Aiz what Quinella had said.
"How do you know?" Aiz asked in surprise, showing a rare flicker of emotion on her expressionless face.
"Secret~," Francis teased before swiftly swinging his sword behind him, slicing something invisible in half.
The space around the cut distorted briefly before revealing a cloaked figure whose upper half slid off from his torso. Aiz's eyes widened in shock—she hadn't even sensed him, despite her Level 4 stats.
"Illusion magic, the strong type it seems. Easy to fool your instincts if you don't know it's happening," Francis explained. While the man had used magic, Francis could tell it didn't affect reality—it was just a high level illusion magic that bent light around him, erased the sound of his steps, and even concealed his scent.
Francis had sensed him thanks to the very thin but widely spread electromagnetic field he had created, which allowed him to detect everything within it's range.
Aiz nodded, raising her guard once again.
"Kill them!" one of the cloaked figures ordered, and the rest charged at them with their weapons.
Aiz and Francis were in for one hell of a fight.